Clamp device for trouser creasers



Feb. 3, 1942. L. CLEMENTS 2,271,541

CLAMP DEVICE FOR TROUSER CREASERS Filed July 13, 1940 INVENT OR.

E4 BY lows f Giana-#775 Patented Feb. 3, 1942 CLAM'P DEVICE FOB TRGUSER CREASERS Louis F. Clements, Denver, 0010., assignor to Lucie J. Furstenberg, trustee, Denver, 0010.

Application July 13, 1940, Serial :N0.- 345,292 3 Claims. till. 24-251) This invention relates to improvements in trouser creasers and has reference more particularly to a creaser'of "such construction that "it can be readily folded into a comparatively small space'so as to facilitate packing and transportation.

Mens' trousers, when kept in proper form are provided with creases at the front and back which serve to give the trousers a neat appearance,

prevents bagging and gives the wearer a well groomedappearance;

It is well known that unless means is taken to properly fold the trousers in the evening and to apply pressure to the creases, they will soon a disappear-and the trouserswill thereupon assume an unkept appearance.

I am aware that many different devices have been invented and sold for the purpose of creasing mens trousers and of retaining the creases indefinitely and I therefore do not claim to be the inventor of this type of apparatus in its broadest aspect.

The object of this invention is to produce a device for creasing mens trousers which shall 'beof such construction that it may be manufactured at a comparatively low cost and which shall be provided with positive and. powerful pressure producing means that adapt the devices for applying a heavy compressive pressure to the material for the purpose of obtaining definite results.

The above and other objects that may appear as this description proceeds are attained by means of aconstruction and an arrangement of parts that will now be described in detai1,.and for this purpose reference will be had to the ac- -'companying drawing in which the invention has been illustrated in its preferred form, and in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a device embodying this invention, the normal position of the parts being shown by full lines and the expanded position indicated by broken lines;

Figure 2 is a plan view of a section of the clamping device, the parts being shown to approximately full size;

Figure 3 is a view showing the clamping device opened so as to expose the inner surfaces of the jaws, said view being to a scale substantially onehalf of that employed in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a view showing the appearance of device when it is in partly folded position;

Figure '5 is a section taken on line 5-5, Figure 2;

Figure 6 Ba transverse section taken on line 6-6, Figure 2;

cit

Figure? is a longitudinal section taken on line 1-1, Figure '1, and shows the two jaw members in'substantiallyfull sizeand in extended position Figure 8 is a section similar to that shown in Figure '7 and shows the two jaw members in folded position; and

Figure 9"is a section taken on line 9-9, Figure 1, and shows the hinge construction by means of which an unusual amount of friction is obv tained.

are interconnected by means of toggles comprising links [0' that are connected to each other by means of rivets H. The endsof the links are each connected to a jaw member in a manner quite apparent from the showing in Figure 1. The clamps each comprise two jaws which have been designated by reference numerals I2 and 13. The jaws are interconnected along one edge by a piano hinge which has been designated by reference numeral 14 and are rotatable around the pivot of this hinge. The ends of the links I0 are pivotally connected with jaws l2 which therefore do not rotate, but remain in parallel relation with the toggle links. The jaws 13 can be rotated about 'the hinge M from the position shown in Figure 2 to that shown in'Figure 3. The'inner surfaces of the jaws are provided with fabric coverings l5 that are attached to the jaws the material of the jaw by three cuts so as to leave the tongues integral with the jaw. These tongues are bent upwardly when viewed as in Figures 3 and 6 and terminate in hooks I! as clearly shown in Figure 6. The jaws I3 are provided with openings [8 that are formed by cutting the material along three sides so as to provide tongues 19 that are bent upwardly and outwardly as shown in Figure 6. A slide 20 is secured to the outer surface of each jaw l3 and held in place by the bent tongues I9. The slide 'is provided with a plurality of elongated openings 2l through which the hooks I1 and tongues l9 extend. One 'side'of openings 21 is formed by an upwardly turned tapered or wedge shaped projection 22 whose shape is most clearlyshown in-Figure 5. Thetapered-edges of members 22 engage underneath the hooks I! and therefore when the slide is moved downwardly, when viewed as in Figure 5, the tapered portions 22 function as wedges that move the hooks H and tongues 16 towards the left, when viewed as in Figure 5, and this moves the two jaw members towards each other so as to exert pressure on the fabric 23 that is positioned between the adjacent surfaces of the jaws. The slides 20 are provided with upwardly bent ends 24 that serve as finger grips for moving them in either direction. It will be observed from Figure 2, that openings 2| have a widened portion 25 adjacent one end thereof and before the jaws can be moved to the open position shown in Figure 3, the slides must be moved upwardly from the position shown in Figure 2 until the widened portions 25 register with the hooks l1, whereupon the jaws I3 can be turned about the hinges M. The tongues 19 and cooperating stops or guide lugs 26 hold the slides 20 for longitudinal sliding movement on jaw 13. It will be observed that the clamps are arranged in sections comprising A, A and B, B, that are hinged at the point designated by reference numeral 21 so that they may be folded into the position shown in Figure 4. The hinges have been designated by reference numeral 28 and are offset from the outer surface of jaws I2 in the manner indicated in Figures 7 and 8. This offset arrangement provides shoulders 29 that serve as stops to limit the rotation in one direction and these stops are sup- .plemented by other stops formed from the bent ends 30 of jaws l3. The several parts assume the shape shown in Figure 7 when the device is extended and it will be seen that the section B cannot move in a counterclockwise direction about hinge 28 due to the stops. When the device is folded into the position shown in Figures 4 and 8, the oifset arrangement of the hinge' maintains the parts 12 in spaced relation so as to provide space for the links In that are connected to the outer surfaces of members I2. When the device is folded for transportation or shipment, the two parts of clamps are moved inwardly into a position in which they are in contact with each other, the toggle links permitting this folding in a manner quite apparent. After the parts have been moved together, they are then folded about hinges 28 as shown in Figure 4, which shows the folding partially completed. When completely folded, the two parts are substantially parallel.

Particular attention is called to the short jaws l3a that serve to clamp the cuffs of the trousers even where the trouser is merely hemmed, there will be eight thicknesses, instead of the ordinary four, but where the trouser is provided with a cuff that is formed from double material, the thickness of cloth between jaw l2 and jaw members I3a will be as much as sixteen thicknesses for the two trouser legs, and therefore more space must be provided than along the other parts of the trouser leg and for this purpose separate clamping means has been provided for the cuffs. The free edges of jaws l3 are outwardly curved as indicated by reference numeral 3| in Figure 6 to facilitate the insertion of the cloth. The parts may be made of metal, preferably sheet steel of proper thickness, togive the required strength, but may also be made of any other suitable material, including plastics if such should be found to have any advantage over metal,

The trouser creaser described above and shown on the drawing is intended for application to the trousers every evening, or at quite frequent intervals and if consistently used will maintain the creased shape for any length of time because by the clamping means described herein and shown on the drawing, a very considerable pressure can be applied to the creases, and if applied in the evening and permitted to remain attached to the trousers until morning, the creases will form a set that will persist through more than one day, and in this manner, travellers, or others may maintain their trousers properly creased for any length of time,

if provided with a trouser creaser like the one described and illustrated.

This trouser creaser is also useful for homes and if trousers not in use have such creasers applied to them, they will always be found to be in excellent shape whenever they are needed. By means of the toggles III, the clamps can be separated so as to subject the trousers to some tension. The hook 32 can be used for supporting the device with its trouser from a hook or a pole in a closet and since the toggle is under set the weight of the parts It] produce a spreading force. Owing to the fact that the hinges are provided with friction washers 33 that resist relative movement, the weight of the device and the trouser is, as a rule, not sufficient to produce any spreading action.

Although the feature of folding the device into the shape shown in Figure 4 is very desirable where it is employed by travellers, it is evident that the two sections A and A and B and B may be made integral and therefore the folding feature is not an essential feature of the invention and is only to be employed where space is a matter of consideration.

Particular attention is called to the clamping means employing the hooks I! and wedges 22 as this provides a powerful force exerting means operating on the wedge principle and which is more effective than spring means for this purpose would be. The offset hinge with the cooperating stops at the ends of jaws I3 is another feature of importance as is also the friction hinges employed in connection with the toggles.

Having described the invention what I claim as new is:

1. An elongated clamp for receiving and compressing one edge of a trouser leg, comprising two elongated jaws of sheet material, pivotally connected along one edge to form a hinged assembly, one of said members having spaced openings, hooks on the other jaw, extending from one side thereof, said hooks projecting through the openings in the other jaw when the jaws are in clamping position, an elongated clamping member slidably connected with the jaw having the spaced openings, said clamping member having an elongated opening corresponding to each spaced opening, a tapered wedge on the clamping member along one side of each elongated opening, for engaging the corresponding hook, to force the jaws toward each other when the wedge is moved in the direction of its taper, and means comprising guide lugs projecting outwardly from the jaw having the spaced openings, for guiding the clamping member and slidably securing it to the jaw.

2. A trouser creaser for receiving and compressing one edge to a trouser leg, said means comprising two elongated jaws hinged along one edge, one of the jaws having a plurality of spaced openings, hooks on the other jaw for passing through the spaced openings when the jaws are moved to closed position, the jaw having the spaced openings having also a plurality of guide lugs projecting outwardly therefrom, an elongated clamping member having an elongated opening that registers with one of the spaced openings in the jaw, means-for securing the clamping member to the jaw and for guiding it as it moves, said means comprising the guide lugs, some of which have laterally extending portions that overlap the clamping member, and means for urging the jaws towards each other, comprising a wedge element carried by the clamping member for engaging the corresponding hook.

3. In a trouser creaser having two elongated jaws hingedly connected along one edge, means for urging the jaws towards each other to exert a clamping action, said means'comprising a clamping member provided with at least one elongated opening, said clamping member having a wedge along one side of the opening, one of the jaws having means comprising lugs for guiding the movement of the clamping member and for securing it to the jaw, at least one of the lugs having a lateral projection that overlaps the clamping member, the jaw to which the clamping member is secured being provided with at least one opening that registers with the elongated opening in the clamping member, and a hook on the other jaw, said hook projecting through the opening in the other jaw and through the elongated opening in the clamping member when the two jaws are in operative position, the hook extending over the wedge, whereby when the latter is moved in the direction of its taper, it will move the jaws towards each other.

LOUIS F. CLEMENTS. 

